The Nature of Murder
Homicide or murder, is defined as "the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought" according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
Under West Virginia Law, murder is defined as:
"Murder by poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or in the commission of, arson, rape, robbery, or burglary is murder of the first degree."
Murder was a popular topic for the paper to sensationalize. Perhaps because the crime fascinates readers because it is not something a sane person would do. As Michael Trotti wrote "Some thrilled to read everything they could about these murders; others were revolted by the spectacle of such attention, particularly when public discussion approached sexual matters. Both responses emphasized the scope of the change: sensations had become prominent elements of modern life in the South as well as the rest of the nation." 107